Police Officer Involved Domestic Violence.
Lighting a candle of remembrance for those who've lost their lives to domestic violence behind the blue wall, for strength and wisdom to those still there, and a non-ending prayer for those who thought they had escaped but can't stop being afraid.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Death by gunshot from .38 Specialthat Aaron Foster threw out of acar window after he fled the scene.

EXCERPTS FROM TODAY'S ARTICLE IN THE PIONEER PRESS: ...[Defense attorney Earl] Gray said Friday that Foster has an absolute right to have the record expunged. "Obviously, it's difficult to get a job nowadays as it is," and when employers see a murder charge on someone's record, it scares them away" Gray said... A St. Paul police record shows that Foster was charged in 1974 with simple assault and possession of a disabling chemical. When he was picked up on a warrant, Maplewood police noted that they knew him for his "violent temper"... In 1985, he was arrested for aggravated assault. He was not charged in that case, in which his estranged wife accused him of pointing a gun at her head and threatening to kill her... Barbara "Bobbi" Winn was 35 and a mother of three when she died of a gunshot wound May 8, 1981, at her Maplewood apartment. Foster, whom she had dated, was present at the time but maintained she shot herself. He threw the gun out a car window...

[Today's article is further below.]

Based on the the evidence (including the evidence successfully suppressed during trial) - MANY believe that Aaron Walter Foster Sr. [aka "Bubbie"] got away with murdering his girlfriend, Barbara Winn. Foster was a friend of the former St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney and was himself employed by the St. Paul Police department. Foster was acquitted of the murder.

Excerpt from the "Someone Was Going to Die" page of the Justice for Barbara Website:

"Shortly after midnight on May 8, 1981, Barbara (Bobbi) L. Winn died in front of her three children from a gunshot wound to her chest... Foster was mentally abusive and physically violent toward Bobbi. When she tried to end the relationship with Foster, Bobbi paid with her life... Many things that happened on the evening of May 7, 1981 were not allowed into evidence during Foster's murder trial. Aaron Foster was on a violent rampage. And, as you will see, below, Foster was going to kill someone that night..."

Aaron Foster Sr. was acquitted of his girlfriend's murder. Now, he wants the case erased from court records.

Foster, 58, was arrested in the 1981 shooting death of Barbara "Bobbi" Winn of Maplewood but was not charged until 2007.

After a high-profile trial, a jury returned a not-guilty verdict.

Winn's family expressed anger Friday over the petition to seal the record.

"This guy, he literally gets away with everything," said Patty Bruce, Winn's sister-in-law. "There will not be any justice for Barbara."

The family has continued to maintain a website dedicated to Winn, justiceforbarbara. com, with its version of the case.

"If a judge expunges that thing, I'll pay for that website till the day that I die," Bruce said.

Foster is scheduled to appear Feb. 16 before Ramsey County District Judge Kathleen Gearin on the matter. She would not comment on the case or on expungements in general, saying only that "each case is unique."

Bruce said Winn's family members would attend the expungement hearing.

In his written petition to seal the record, filed in October, defense attorney Earl Gray said prospective employers have viewed the charge in a negative light even though Foster was exonerated.

"Mr. Foster presents absolutely no danger to the community," the petition said. Other than a charge of failure to change the address on his firearm permit, Foster "has no other criminal charges on his record."

Reached at his home in St. Paul, Foster referred questions to Gray.

Gray said Friday that Foster has an absolute right to have the record expunged.

"Obviously, it's difficult to get a job nowadays as it is," and when employers see a murder charge on someone's record, it scares them away, Gray said.

Criminal records contradict Gray's statement that Foster has no other criminal charges on his record.

A St. Paul police record shows that he was charged in 1974 with simple assault and possession of a disabling chemical. When he was picked up on a warrant, Maplewood police noted that they knew him for his "violent temper." He received a suspended sentence of 20 days.

In 1985, he was arrested for aggravated assault. He was not charged in that case, in which his estranged wife accused him of pointing a gun at her head and threatening to kill her. Foster denied the accusations.

Barbara "Bobbi" Winn was 35 and a mother of three when she died of a gunshot wound May 8, 1981, at her Maplewood apartment. Foster, whom she had dated, was present at the time but maintained she shot herself. He threw the gun out a car window.

Maplewood investigators initially arrested Foster but then dropped the case in July 1981, less than 11 weeks after the shooting. No charges were filed until 26 years later.

The murder case was an issue in the political race for Ramsey County sheriff in 2008.

Then-Sheriff Bob Fletcher was facing a challenge from former St. Paul police chief Bill Finney, a close friend of Foster's. Fletcher reopened the criminal case against Foster.

Finney was accused of favoritism on behalf of his friend.

After his acquittal, several jurors said that they believed Foster was guilty but that the evidence against him wasn't enough to convict.

Foster, a former St. Paul Police Department employee, is involved in another legal case; in 2009, he sued the city of St. Paul, alleging that city staff discriminated against him because he is black. The department placed him on unpaid leave when he was charged with murder in 2007 and did not reinstate him after his 2008 acquittal.

ROBERT BLAKEI KNOW how you feel Aaron I was falsely ACCUSED TOO !!!!! be sure next time to plant the gun next to the body and not take it with you ,that appears a little suspicious...

CHARLES MANSONAaron I feel your pain man Ive been railroaded by the man since 69 and all I was doing was playng my guitar when all that craziness went down in LA . KEEP YOUR CHIN UP .....[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety fatality fatalities murder teflon minnesota state brotherhood cronies hx repeat]